Natural frequencies of composite plates with tailored thermal residual stresses (Q1302828)

The authors analyze the effect of thermal residual stresses on natural frequencies and vibration modes of stiffened composite plates. The analysis is based on Reissner-Mindlin plate theory, and involves two separate calculations. In the first computation, the thermal residual stress state is determined for an unconstrained plate. In the second computation, the free vibration problem is solved including the stiffening due to thermal residual stresses obtained at the first step. The authors solve the problem by using a 16-node bicubic Lagrange's finite element (every node is assumed to possess degrees of freedom). Both the distribution and magnitude of thermal residual stresses are shown to have large effect on natural frequencies. It is established that natural frequency can be doubled or reduced to zero, as a result of thermoelastic structural effect. These effects depend on geometry, boundary conditions, material properties and design.